Musical Interlude
by Animegirl1129
Summary: Ten JaSpin drabbles. Some tragic, some fluffy, none connected. This is the result of one of those shuffle-prompt games on LJ. Slash.
1. Part the First

Musical Interlude

**_This came from one of those suffle meme things over on LJ. 10 songs, 10 little fics. I picked Jason/Spinelli. I know, what a shock, right? xD Ugh, they seem to alternate between fluffy-scmoopy things and tragic things, so, yeah. None are really higher than K+, though. Boys aren't mine. Enjoy!_**

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_Love Me Like The World Is Ending // Ben Lee_

They're trapped in the burning mess that was once 122 Harbor View Towers. It's going down in flames, smoke is filling every inch of the building and there are only two people still trapped within the inferno. Jason Morgan and Damian Spinelli.

The elder is holding tight to his self proclaimed protégé. "I'll get you out of here." He coughs through the smoke filling his lungs. "Come on, Spinelli. You have to keep moving." Jason begs, shaking his younger comrade with everything he has.

He brushes the younger's hair from his face and presses a soft kiss to ash covered lips and then throws Spinelli over his shoulder in a fireman's lift.

"I'll get you out." He promises again, as he tries to kick out the door trapping them.

It doesn't budge.

_Lie To Me // Stacy Wilde_

Spinelli can't believe he's doing this. The lies come more fluidly and naturally than he thought possible. And just like that he's lying. Lying to Jason, to Maxie, to everyone. Believe it or not, lying to Jason hurts more. He tells his master that he's trying to change the way he looks to impress Maximista and the elder believes him without hesitation.

"I think that Maxie likes you for who you are and not how you look." Jason tells him, honestly.

It's better this way. Spinelli makes himself think. He can't drag Stone Cold Down with him in the FBI hunt. Jason is needed here and the Jackal is not. It's better if he runs solo. Better for everyone involved if he just disappears. If it's like he'd never been in Port Charles.

He raises a protest to Jason's comment and finds himself promptly cut off. "Look, we… we need to talk about something. Right now." Jason finally gets out, the words tense and desperate. Spinelli knows he's going to tell him about the plan to run together.

And before Jason can say anything to jeopardize Spinelli's plan, the younger man is making up some excuse about a rendezvous with Maximista. More lies that come so easily.

_How Far We've Come // Matchbox 20_

Can it really have been nearly three years since Stone Cold saved him from the clutches of Darth Alcazar?

It certainly doesn't feel like it, Spinelli muses, lounging quite sleepily on the bed in Jason's room. Their room, really. They've been together for several months now, and living together is something they've long since mastered. Working together, living together, and now just taking that one step further.

"You still awake?" Jason asks, falling into bed beside the younger man upon stripping down to his boxers.

"Affirmative. Just musing on how far we've come since you locked me in a closet so long ago."

Jason ducks his head with an awkward laugh. "That was a long time ago."

"Indeed. I suppose we're even. I did drag you out of one, anyway." He muses, and grins like lightning when lips press softly against his own.

_I Wanna // The All American Rejects_

How did he miss this?

He watches his young protégé with hawk eyes as he dances happily at the party. Spinelli keeps shooting him looks that Jason had been having trouble identifying up til just now.

"Go." Maxie pesters him, for what is not the first time, and now he gets it. How did she see this?

"Are you-?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Now go." She demands, shoving him rather ungracefully towards Spinelli.

His hand lands on Spinelli's shoulder, and the other man beams up at him when he realizes what's going on. "Wanna dance?" Jason asks awkwardly. And since when is he a nervous highschooler? What is this kid doing to him?

"Most definitely, Stone Cold." Spinelli answers, and suddenly they're touching and moving and Jason hopes Spinelli knows that he's trapped now. Never going anywhere.

_Six Days // DJ Shadow Ft. Mos Def (Tokyo Drift)_

It takes six days for everything to come crashing down in the town of Port Charles. Sonny and Jason have been in negotiations for weeks now over how they're going to go about working together again, combining Zacchara and Corinthos-Morgan territories. The day after they finally seem to agree on anything, Jason gets the news.

"Jason!" Maxie tells him. "Jason! Oh, God… You have to get to the hospital right now. Spinelli's been shot."

And he does. He's broken nearly every traffic law ever made in order to get there, and he's nearly too late.

It takes six hours for Spinelli to fade out of existence. Six hours of torture for Maxie and Jason, who can only watch on while the doctors try to keep him comfortable. Six hours in which Jason is planning revenge.

"It was Sonny." Maxie tells him, in between hoarse sobs. "Sonny did this."

"Okay." Jason agrees, and now he has a target in mind for that revenge. "Okay, don't worry. I'll make him pay."

It takes six minutes to find Sonny on the docks and six seconds more to end him.

_How To Be Dead // Snow Patrol_

"Stone Cold?" Spinelli calls hesitantly from the door of the Penthouse. It's dark, and until Jason speaks, he'd been convinced the older man wasn't home.

"Yeah?" Comes the reply from the man hidden in shadow on the sofa.

Spinelli snakes in the door, crossing the room to sit beside his master, the lights still out. "I, ugh, that is… The Jackal thought about the confession you made to him. Concerning your feelings, and, ugh, I reciprocate them, as it were."

Jason looks up in something between surprise and confusion. But the look on Spinelli's face tells him in sincerity that he means what he's said. "You're sure?"

"Indeed I am." He answers, and his hand lands on Jason's.

_No Matter What // Stephen Gately & Ronan Keating_

Neither of them cares what is made of their relationship. It's new and vulnerable and fragile and they are both willing to ignore the insults and attacks made against them because they don't want to hide.

Out of everyone, Sonny's been the worst, but that's hardly surprising. He's always hated Spinelli, so Jason giving him one more reason to do so was kind of an expected caveat. They've gotten to the point of restraining orders against him.

But, neither Jason or Spinelli are concerned enough to stop their normal activities. It's only fair that they should be able to act like a couple when they're in public. Spinelli's always touching him, and Jason usually has an arm thrown over Spinelli's shoulder's if nothing else.

Plus, they do have some people on their side. Robin and Patrick and Matt don't seem to care. Maxie, while still a little miffed at Jason for stealing Spinelli from her - through no intent of his own – is usually saying something about how cute they are.

Such remarks never go over well with Jason, though.

But no matter what, they're not letting anyone else affect their interactions in public because they're in love and no one is stopping them.

_Starfish & Coffee (Live) // Matt Nathanson_

Jason often comes home to Spinelli doing something strange or odd. This one takes the prize, though.

"_If you asked her what she had for breakfast, this is what she'd say… Starfish and coffee, maple syrup and jam. Butterscotch clouds, a tangerine, and a side order of ham. And if you set your mind free, baby, maybe you'll understand. Starfish and coffee, maple syrup and jam_…" Spinelli is singing a purely ridiculous song.

"What are you doing?" Jason asks, a wide smile on his face even as he questions the ostentatious music. It's also radiating from the stereo system, so clearly someone else is equally as unhinged.

Spinelli jumps at his voice, having been intently lining up a shot on the pool table. "Oh! Stone Cold! There you are."

The elder grabs his own pool cue and joins Spinelli at the game. "What are we listening to?"

"It is a cover of a Prince song. Catchy, wouldn't you agree?"

"It is… something. I'm not sure catchy is the word."

Spinelli laughs and changes the track to a more well-known song by the same artist. "Better?"

"Not really. It's stuck in my head." Jason responds, because the chorus is evidently now on permanent repeat in his head.

Spinelli nods and changes the song back. "I feel your pain, as it were."

_One Night Love Affair // Bryan Adams_

Spinelli wakes up alone in Jason's bed. And then it hits him that this wasn't what he'd wanted out of last night's rather drunken and desperate endeavor. "Stone Cold?" He calls out, just in case this isn't what he thinks it is.

No answer comes and he climbs out of bed, still naked and a little bit sticky. He pulls on his hurriedly discarded shorts and heads for the door, finding the penthouse deserted and quiet.

"Stone Cold?" He repeats, and by now he's wandered downstairs. The lights are off, but there's a note tapes to the front door.

Be back later. That's all it says, and Spinelli slides down the door to curl his arms around his knees. He resolves that if this is how Jason is going to handle the situation, like a one night stand kind of thing that doesn't matter at all, he'll do the same. Or… he'll try to anyway.

The door tries to open behind him and he quickly scrambles out of the way, frantically wiping at tears that he hadn't known had fallen.

"Spinelli?" Comes Jason's concerned voice. He has breakfast from Kelly's in one hand and his keys in the other. "What's wrong?"

"I… nothing." He answers quickly. "You went out to get breakfast?" He asks, taking in the bags.

"Cody called me about some trouble on the docks, I got the food on my way back." Jason explains. "I didn't think you'd be awake yet." He sets the bags down on the desk by the door and moves closer to Spinelli. "What's wrong?" He asks again.

Spinelli is almost smiling now. "I… I thought that… Last night…"

Jason cuts off such thoughts with a deep kiss.

_Never Gonna Leave Your Side // Daniel Beddingfield_

When Jason first sees Spinelli alive and okay and also slightly in trouble in LA, it feels as if a thousand pound weight has been lifted off his shoulders. That aforementioned trouble is dealt with quickly enough between himself, Sam, and - as much as he hates to include her - Agent Leeds. And, despite the fact that his actions are very much out of character, he pulls Spinelli into his arms. "you're never, ever doing anything like this again, got it?" He asks, and it is very much not a question.

Surprisingly, Spinelli relaxes against his hold and nods against his chest. "Affirmative, Stone Cold."

"Good." Jason says, and his arms reluctantly release his younger friend. "You're stuck with me."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Spinelli grins, and Jason can tell he's been missed as much as Jason's been missing him.


	2. Part the Second

Musical Interlude

**_Just as before, this came from one of those suffle meme things over on LJ. 10 songs, 10 little fics. This is me padding my NaNoWriMo word count and nothing else. Ugh... characters aren't mine. Enjoy!_**

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_I Never Needed You // Lonestar_

The hotel room is cold and impersonal. Too quiet and empty for him to focus on anything at all. Most of all, it's too far away from home.

He hadn't wanted to leave, he really hadn't. But…

But Jason didn't need him anymore. He was worthless. Spinelli couldn't give him what he wanted. He couldn't find the evidence to damn Claudia in Michael's shooting, but Jason could. Stone Cold no longer needed his self-proclaimed protégé's aid. So, he'd done just what Jason had asked of him – he'd left.

And how he missed Casa de Stone Cold already…

_Wanted Dead Or Alive // Bon Jovi_

The car is stolen, the air conditioner is broken and it's occupants are on the run. Raynor is back in town with damning evidence. He's already got Sonny in FBI custody, and Jason is damn sure not letting him get Spinelli, too.

"Where are we going?" Spinelli asks, voice shaking in his panic. He'd pulled the kid out of bed in the middle of the night to start this impromptu road trip to the first stop of their journey. Next was a boat docked in a private harbor, then a plane. "Stone Cold?"

Jason's eyes land on the rear view mirror, checking for the thousandth time to see if they're being followed. All clear.

"How does Cameroon sound?"

_Awake // Secondhand Serenade_

"Stone Cold Stone Cold Stone Cold…." Spinelli chants the mantra over and over again, leaning over his best friend's prone body. "Come on, your Jackal most ardently implores you to stay awake." He shakes Jason's shoulder lightly, hoping for an irritated response, anything.

All he gets in response is some slow blinking and Jason's finger's curling around his own.

"Please, don't do this to me, Jason." He begs, fisting his hand in the unconscious man's shirt. He's shaking now, finding it hard to breathe himself. "I won't leave you here, Stone Cold. I refuse to go on without you."

The poison in the air is growing stronger, Spinelli suspects, but even still, he has to try, he presses his lips to Jason's, breathing air into his lungs.

"Please. Stay awake." He begs, tears flowing down his face as he buries his head against Jason's neck in his hopelessness. "Please…"

_Wolf Like Me // TV On The Radio_

Jason's fanged teeth hover over the delicate skin of the curve of Spinelli's neck, threatening to bite the unsuspecting hacker as he sleeps.

"No." He growls. He's not letting the wolf… No. No no no no. Never.

With a snarl that he hopes rouses Spinelli into a state where he can protect himself, he bolts, racing into the outside world to run off his lupin energy until daybreak. This… this thing takes him over three days a month, through the lunar cycle, and now it wants Spinelli, too?

As much as it hurts to fight the cravings, the desires, the want for a pack – not even a pack, just a mate, he suspects, given that Spinelli's the only one he's tried to bite – he manages. It gets harder and harder every time. Each full moon he gets closer to biting.

His proximity tonight terrifies him.

_The Call // Regina Spektor_

It starts out simply enough, just some dreams of questionable content and a profound sense of hero worship on Spinelli's side. This, combined with the fact that he's useful and that Jason needs his help, creates the catalyst for everything that comes later.

By the time it reaches its conclusion, amidst guns and bullets and blood-soaked confessions of true feelings long hidden, it's so strong they can both feel it. "Damn it, Spinelli!" Jason begs, watching as Spinelli packs up his belongings. "Don't do this! I need you!"

"If your Jackal does not take his leave now, then the Federal ones will have even more control over you, Stone Cold, than they did previously. Raynor heard our exchanged words and is aware of the connection between us."

"I don't care. Stay." He tries again, even though he knows it's for the best. Doesn't mean he has to like it.

Spinelli moves forward, his arms curling around Jason's chest, the elder's chin resting on top of his head. "Alas, I cannot."

_Somebody // The Eagles_

"I should kill you." Jason growls out through gritted teeth, his hands fisted in the collar of Sonny's shirt. "You should be the one lying in that hospital bed. You should be the one who's probably never going to wake up." He shoves hard, pressing Sonny's back into the wall. "It should be you! Not Spinelli! You!"

But, he can't. He needs to be there for Spinelli and if Sonny were to go suddenly missing, the police wouldn't need so much as a hint for where to look.

Sonny may have gotten away with his crimes, but Jason isn't ricking it.

No, he'll deal with Sonny later, right now, he just needs to be with Spinelli. He punches his once-mentor for good measure before he stalks off, intent to return to Spinelli's bedside.

What he doesn't know is that someone else is going to play the angel of death for him.

No one ever does find Sonny's body and there is irrefutable proof that Jason was at the hospital at the time of the supposed murder.

_Time For Miracles // Adam Lambert_

The end of the world is coming. The End Of The World. This is it…

"Stone Cold?" Spinelli whimpers, curled up beside his master in some warehouse room where they've taken shelter.

Jason 'hmms' in acknowledgement, taking in the new, albeit temporary surroundings, but Spinelli's lack of verbal reply draws his attention further.

The next thing he knows, Spinelli's lips are pressed to his and Spinelli's hands are on his chest. He's kissing back and touching back and oh, why oh why did they have to wait until the world is minutes away from ending to discover this?

"Your Jackal has been most ardently in love with you for quite some time now, Stone Cold…" Spinelli says, when they break for a short second. "I… I just thought you should be aware."

Jason pulls him back again, pressing their lips together again and again. Because the world is coming to an end…

And there's nothing they can do to stop it.

_About A Girl // The Academy Is…_

Its karaoke night at Jake's again, and Spinelli's up on stage, looking and feeling much more comfortable than his first time.

Maxie and Jason, sitting in the audience, watch and cheer him on as he starts in on the song. Jason doesn't recognize it, but Maxie does.

"_I'm not in love, this is not my heart… I'm not in love, this is not your song. I'm not gonna waste these words about a girl…_" Spinelli sings with a passion that Jason hasn't seen before.

Maxie gets up and storms out for some reason unknown to Jason.

"_About a girl…_" Spinelli's eyes meet his in the small crowd of his audience, holding his gaze, and the slight inflection on the words clue Jason in.

Oh.

If he's right, that was the most subtle transition between a break-up and an admittance of feelings in the history of ever.

_If I Never Knew You // Disney_

There is no sign of compassion or mercy in Jason Morgan's eyes. Just pure, unadulterated revenge and hatred. It's her fault that Michael has spent almost a year in a coma. It's her fault. Everything is, as a result her fault. Sonny has found out, now, too. And his orders stand.

Kill her.

He has no qualms about following his orders, either. It's just a matter of location that is proving tricky. She's somewhere public – safe for her, bad for him.

She's hiding out inside Kelly, which is quite a crowded place at the moment.

He switches off the power outside, sending the building into darkness and prompting customers to exit promptly.

The place empties – or so he thinks – and he goes in. He can hear Mike wandering about in the kitchen, trying to sort things out, he figures, but then there's someone else, too. Apparently on a laptop working off of battery power.

"Hey," Jason growls. "Get out of here."

The kid – college age, maybe, Jason figures – looks up at him like he has three heads. "I… ugh, the Jackal must inquire as to why?"

Suddenly, Claudia is there, too, and she has a gun. A gun trained on the kid, the Jackal.

"Back off." She warns, but Jason has no concept of mercy, nothing other than his mission. Kill Claudia.

So, he does.

The bullet hits her square in the head, avoiding the kid altogether, sending her to the floor. "You… you…" The kid stammers, standing and moving away from the clearly dead woman. "Thank you?" He tries, unsure as to how to react in the strange situation.

And Jason is strangely glad that the kid is alive and safe. "C'mon, let me get you out of here."

_Runway Car // Mat Kearney _

He's beginning to think he made a grievous error in judgment. He hadn't wanted to go, and apparently, given the fact that Jason is now hovering over him in his crappy hotel room, Jason hadn't wanted him to either.

"Stone Cold?" He mumbles sleepily, trying to figure out if he's dreaming this or if it's real.

Jason grabs his arm, pulls him so that he's sitting and curls an arm around the younger's frame in a surprising hug. "Don't. Don't do that to me again, okay? Don't leave." He says, voice shaking uncharacteristically. "I… I'm sorry for what I said earlier. I was… I should have listened to you."

"What transpired after the jackal took his leave?" he inquires, needing to know the answer to that before he offers to return home.

Jason bites his lip. "Sam and I found evidence implicating Claudia. She did it. I tracked her down once Sonny found out and… Michael killed her."

"Michael?"

"Yeah. Spinelli. I'm going to be the one taking the fall for it." He informs his protégé. "I just wanted you to know the truth. I want you to come home."

Spinelli nods mutely, unable to comprehend Jason's intended actions. "You… you can't. The Ace of Cyberspace refuses to allow such a atrocious exploitation of justice!"

Jason drops his head. "I don't want to go to jail, Spinelli. But I can't let Michael go, either."

"The Jackal will find a way." He swears, and for all the times Jason has saved him from prison, disaster and death, he'll deliver. For now, though… "Shall we make our return to Casa de Stone Cold?"


	3. Part the Third AU Snapshots

Musical Interludes

**_In which Jason and Spinelli live out ten alternate versions of themselves. Ugh, just another one of the shuffle prompt game things. I so totally cheated on this one, though. Mm, boys aren't mine. Enjoy!_**

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H. R.S. A // Blue October

Shady Brook Sanatorium was hardly a fun place to be, but for Damian Spinelli, he'd accepted that he would likely be there for a while. The doctors, the nurses, the counselor's he'd spoken to all seemed to have deemed in unstable, unfit to cohabitate with the real world. He spoke with words they were not used to, dubbed nearly everyone with obscure nicknames, spoke of technology and computers and cyberspace like it was something as simple as the weather. They'd locked him up and thrown away the key before he'd turned 20.

But, Damian Spinelli was far from insane, just… different.

He'd been outside on the grounds – for his free hour of the day – when the new patient had arrived. A man, older than he, with piercing, stone cold, blue eyes. He'd been accused of a murder, he was a mobster, the rumors said. None of the other patients seemed willing to talk to the stranger.

"The Jackal bids you as warm a welcome as one can receive at Shady Brook," Spinelli said politely, when he discovered that the newcomer – one Jason Morgan - was his new roommate.

No answer came to his inquiry.

"Want to get out of here, Stone Cold?"

If I Only Had A Brain // Wizard of Oz

Jason Morgan approached the fork in the road with his gun drawn and his eyes peeled for the signs of the thugs that had dumped him out here in the middle of Nowheresville, USA. It was going on dark and the November chill in the air was winning out over his t-shirt.

"Damn it, which way?" He demanded of the open field in front of him.

"Pardon me; this way is a very nice way." Came a voice from the darkness.

Jason startled. He had seen no one. "Who said that?"

Something shifted in the field in front of him. "It's pleasant down that way, too." The disembodied voice said again, as Jason investigated.

There, lying, tied up and tossed into the corn field, was a kid - not really a kid, but someone younger than Jason - pointing down one of the paths. "What happened to you?"

"Of course, some people do go both ways." He continued on as if he hadn't been asked a question and it wasn't until he saw the glint of the gun in Jason's hand that he seemed to return to reality. "Oh, you're not one of them, are you? The Jackal surely hopes not…"

"One of the thugs? No." Jason assured the younger, pocketing his gun and leaning down to untangle the rope tied around the kid's wrists and ankles. "Come on, now, let's get you out of here."

Strangers On A Train // David Nail

The ride back to Tennessee seemed much longer than the trip to Port Charles had. Granted, then he'd had the potential college, the potential job, but he'd been turned down for both. Back to Oakfield it was, then.

Spinelli frowned, shifting deeper into the seat. There weren't many people on the train. A mom with two little kids – surprisingly well behaved for their estimated ages – an older couple sitting together in the back, doing crossword puzzle after crossword puzzle. There was one man, with blue as blue could be eyes in a black leather jacket sitting across from him, though.

But he was trying not to think about that.

He would swear that the guy kept looking at him, too, though. Staring, looking away again before Spinelli could catch him in the act.

They were nearing Oakfield when the stranger got up, moved seats, sat beside him. "My name's Jason. Don't freak out." He said, which was not a good way to start a conversation. "But I need you to come with me."

Spinelli frowned. "Wha… why?"

"The guy you met with in Port Charles? The one who turned you down?" The stranger said, and when his target nodded, he continued. "He thought you knew too much, so he hired me to kill you."

His eyes went wide, and he started to try to stand, but Jason's strong hand settled in his shoulder.

"Relax, I'm not going to do it. But I need to get you out here." Jason leveled Spinelli with his stone cold gaze.

Something in the other's eyes made Spinelli nod in acceptance. He trusted the words his stranger on a train had spoken. "I will do whatever you think is necessary."

If I Was Your Vampire // Marilyn Manson

The alley was dark and it was a decidedly bad part of town, but Spinelli found himself forced to walk through it despite the adverse conditions. He'd been dumped out in the docks by his girlfriend – in more than one sense of 'dumped' and left on his own to find his way back to town. Never mind that he'd never been to this part of town before.

A trash can at the mouth of the alley tipped over and Spinelli froze in place, listening for further noises, stayed silent until he was sure that there was nothing.

"No one ever tell you it's dangerous out here?" A voice whispered to him, breathing warm breathe on the back of his neck.

He whirled around, but found that no one was there.

"Oh, you'll have to be much quicker than that." The voice teased, behind him again. Cold arms curled around his chest, pulling him further into the darkness, pressed him against the cold brick wall.

Spinelli swallowed, heart racing as he struggled to escape. "W-what do you want with the Jackal?"

The stranger, a man with crystalline blue eyes, only loomed over him. He licked his lips, and a glimpse of pointed fangs appeared behind them. "Mm, I think you'll find out." He promised, ducking his head to press his lips against his captive's neck.

Something Crazy // Franky Perez

He hadn't seen Spinelli since high school. The kid had been dorky and awkward then, too, but Jason had helped him with his homework and watched out for him when he was in elementary and middle school as best he could. They'd been friends, kind of. But then, after Jason had graduated college, they'd lost contact.

Here, five years later, Spinelli had tracked him down.

"I, uhm, I kind of think I might need your help, Jase." He said, sniffling softly. He rubbed at his eye, pulled the hood he'd had up since he slid into Jason's car down. A deep purple bruise covered the side of his face. "I need to get away, before…" Then the hand in Spinelli had had shoved into his pocket came out, holding a shiny, silver gun. "Before I do something crazy."

Jason was seething at the knowledge that he'd failed at protecting his self-proclaimed grasshopper. He slid the gun from his friend's hand. "Whoever did this to you won't ever touch you again." He swore. They very well might not touch anything ever again.

Spinelli sniffled again, and Jason found himself soothing the younger boy for a long while before he got him to the sanctity of his apartment. He'd deal with the jackass behind this mess once he was sure Spinelli knew he was safe.

Citizen/Soldier // 3 Doors Down

"Morgan," His squad leader commanded, tossing out assignments. "You're to clear the Harbor View building. Gather up any survivors and return them to base."

Jason nodded, already clad in his black army fatigues, and set off to accomplish his assigned task. Trained soldier that he was it didn't take him long to clear the building. He took out two rebel men at the front entrance, found no survivors, at least until he reached the penthouse level of the once fancy building.

A whole gaggle of guards were in place there. Something important.

He took the soldiers out with skilled precision, took a hit to the side for his troubles, and found, inside the penthouse suite, one lone survivor. A kid of about twenty, a prisoner, given his bruises and general look of distrust, was hiding under what had once been a computer desk.

"Civilian?" Jason called out, to verify.

"A-affirmative." Came the response, and Jason dared to approach.

"Why'd they have you?" He pressed, pulling the kid out from his hiding place. Countless injuries, looked like a sprained, if not broken, ankle.

"The, ugh, the Jackal was at work for the militant one's – yourself – and was operating with an amount of classified and highly crucial information. I would not tell them what they needed and thus they kept deemed it necessary to keep prisoner until I would."

Jason hummed in consideration. They'd heard reports. The kid, a genius or so the higher ups had claimed, had been presumed dead over a month ago. And here he'd been all the time. "I'll get you back." He assured the younger, calling in to base.

"Morgan, report received. You are solely responsible for the Jackal as of now. Over." His captain's order came through, and something about that – the first thing that had in the insane war – seemed right.

Slow Dancing In A Burning Room // John Mayer

Spinelli was one of the only high schoolers at the party. Some college thing that his friend had dragged him to and subsequently ditched him for. He stuck to his place on the wall, watching the older kids move around, drinking and dancing, some smoking and doing more hardcore things that Spinelli wanted no part of.

He was doing an excellent job of blending in, he thinks. No one has so much as acknowledged him since his arrival. A good thing – most of the kids here used to pick on him when they were younger.

"Hey."

The boy who'd spoken - a senior in the PCU college class that Spinelli only recognized through some mutual friends - could not possibly have been speaking to him. If he was, he was in deep trouble. Morgan was in bed with the mob, everyone knew.

"Spinelli, right?"

Damn it. "I, ugh, yes." He bit his lip, stared at the floor. "What might the Jackal be able to do for you, Stone Cold one?"

"I was just hoping for a dance, was all." The elder said, and a hand entered Spinelli's downcast field of vision, looking entirely unthreatening. "Well, what do you say?"

Spinelli swallowed. Was it acceptable to turn down dance offers from Mob Princes? He somehow thought not. Slowly, reluctantly, he nodded. "I suppose that could be arranged."

He got a smile in response to his agreement as he was led out onto the make shift dance floor. Everyone recognized him now, of course, the kids who'd always picked on him whispered quietly amongst themselves, but none so much as moved to bother he and Jason as they danced to the slow song playing.

One benefit to being seduced by a mobster, he supposed.

Don't Laugh At Me // Mark Wills

Nine years old and Damian Spinelli's only wish was to be a grown up. If only so the world of playgrounds and school bullies could be in his past instead of his future. Scott Metcalfe, a year older than him but still in the same grade, was always picking on him. He was the most popular kid in school and what he said was treated like law by the other students. So, when he called Damian a geek, a dork, a loser, everyone else thought so, too.

He was never picked for any of the sports in gym, never had a partner in class assignments unless someone wanted to cheat off of him, never even had someone to sit on the bus with, no friends.

At least until his new neighbors showed up.

They had a son, older than Damian, nearly seventeen, and his mom thought that the boy – Jason – was very nice. So, he was eventually talked into babysitting.

"Mom, I'm too old for a babysitter!" He'd protested, but his mother had been unrelenting and Jason had arrived right on time.

His opinion of the situation had changed rapidly. Jason was cool, popular almost immediately at the high school even though he didn't really seem to want to be. Jason took him to the movies, swimming in summer, ice-skating in winter, took him for ice-cream when he got all A's on his report cards, helped him with homework.

Jason even drove him to and from school so he never had to take the bus.

Scoot Metcalfe caught Damian on his way to Jason's car one day after school. Called him a chicken and a baby because he never made himself available to be picked on anymore, always hid. Scott had an audience, and was all revved up for a fight.

Damian, obviously, was not. And, luckily, he never had to be.

Scott had been about to throw the first punch – upon one defenseless Damian Spinelli - when Jason had appeared. He'd grabbed Damian and pulled him backwards, out of the bully's range. He clung to Jason's side like the terrified nine year old he was, and stared up at his rescuer in amazement.

"I would suggest that you stop picking on him." Jason said simply, implementing an icy cold glare that Damian had never seen before. When Jason looked down at him, it was gone. "C'mon, what do you say to stopping for pizza?"

Stay // Will Deynes

The house was mostly dark, but Jason knew that Spinelli would be there. He always was, and the faint glow from his laptop in the bedroom window was a dead giveaway.

It was a well-practiced course, he knew, as he rounded to the side of the house and climbed the tree just outside of his best friend's room. Right on schedule, the window slid open and he silently slipped inside.

"Mm," He smiled. "I can't wait until we run away together, and get our own place. I'm looking forward to being able to use a door." Jason caught Spinelli's hand in his own, following him over to the bed. "Your dad asleep?"

"Affirmative." His lover replied, ducking to kiss Jason quickly. Neither Spinelli's father nor Jason's family approved of their friendship – let alone relationship – but they hadn't let that stop them. As it stood, in another three weeks and six days, their plans would be complete – they'd have the means and the money to make their escape from this town and everyone in it.

Jason slid his hand under the borrowed black t-shirt Spinelli wore, pulled him closer. "Another thing I can't wait for: Getting to stay the night with you, not having to leave in the middle of the night." He always left early, never stayed until morning, it was too risky.

Spinelli hummed in agreement, "I wish you could stay, too." He shifted so that he fitted against Jason, head on his chest, legs impossibly entwined beneath the covers. Jason's arms curled around his back, keeping him in place.

From Now On We Are Enemies // Fall Out Boy

He found Damian Spinelli, ace computer tech god genius or whatever he wanted to be called, in a bar on the shady side of town. It had been a prime opportunity, a chance to pick off one of Alcazar's top players, but the kid was… interesting.

He didn't seem to recognize Jason as anything other than another guest of the bar. Spinelli blushed and looked away when Jason bought him a drink, talked animatedly and passionately about things Jason could never hope to understand.

Alcazar had enlisted him when he was still in high school; he'd never had a chance to have a life outside of the mob. His family was virtually non-existent, friends were scarce – at work it was only associates and colleagues – and sometimes, tonight, for instance, he really just needed to unwind before he went insane from being so used by his employers. No one respected him, just took advantage of what he could get the workings of cyberspace to do.

"It's really quite a shame that we are operating under rival entities. The Jackal would easily acknowledge that you, Stone Cold, and I, would make a formidable team if we were working together." Despite the words, despite the fact that they were playing out the beginnings of a rather warped version of a certain Shakespearean tragedy, he'd spoken only after Jason had taken him back to his penthouse, only after Jason had peeled off his shirt and was looming over him.

Jason shrugged, debating his options. "After tonight, we're enemies again, okay? Tonight, here, neutral territory."

Spinelli grinned, glad that he hadn't ruined his chances with the handsome, rival mob prince. "Most amenable terms. The Ace of Cyber-" He was cut off when Jason ducked his head to kiss him intensely. His head swam as it ended and he forced himself to refocus on his train of thought. "Perhaps we could continue to meet in secret here, if the Stone Cold one would be amenable?"

"Enemies." He repeated, even as he slid a hand into the other's jeans. He wasn't sure of it was to convince Spinelli or himself, because he'd very nearly almost agreed.


End file.
